The bridge was solid under his feet. Just as he intended, but not so soon. She had gone against his wishes by rushing ahead. Calarapan wouldn't have built it. She knew the villagers. Knew they had placed the offerings in front of his building.
But how could she have known he would use them as a bridge? Only if she was watching from Calarapan's stronghold when he made the declaration to Tamara. Now she and the intruder were working together. While Calarapan
built, she encouraged him.
Was she so stripped of her will that she forgot her own strengths? Like Chantale, she could use her gifts to hasten Calarapan's efforts. Did she not realize how degraded she had become because of him?
Before, the bridge was only specs for Joseph to step upon. Now the seeds had germinated, the petals were woven in, and the spices were as mortar. If he wished it, he wouldn't have to look down to be careful of his next step. However, he was watching where he placed his feet. Already having looked ahead, she was not looking across the bridge at him. In light of the few details he got, she was hunched, her head bowed.
Worshiping Calarapan. Not at all concerned with anyone who could hinder their plans.
Joseph studied the material under his feet, still. Despite what was happening, he took a moment to absorb what the near final result of what his oath to the villagers looked like.
Yet, it was being mocked. And of all people to treat it as such, was she really unrepentant?
Crossing the bridge, he had to look down past his feet. Below, where the spirit realm's subterranean striations were mapped out, further than that was only darkness. Either extreme, above and below, vanished from his comprehension. So vast was the sky. So vast was this chasm, but this emptiness wasn't supposed to be here. He had claimed this land.
Looking ahead, the one who was giving it to another sat in concentration. He stopped at the end of the bridge and just watched her. This island was only big enough to supply a ring of ground around the alter. Yet, there was enough to fit three people in the midst of it. Unlike the island's shape, the alter's base was fashioned into a rectangle. Dry brown grass and sticks had been woven together, giving Eliska a rough cushion to sit upon. Outside of the bundle, there were thicker sticks stabbed into the ground. Twine was used to bind smaller pieces of sticks to these at varying angles. Joseph might have known their meanings, but he didn't care.
Eliska hadn't reacted to his presence. Her head was still bowed over the small clay bowl sitting against her ankles. In it was a bundle of incense. The smoke was rising up into her face.
"Go ahead." She surprised him by speaking first. "Do it."
Why won't she look at me? He wondered. Then he asked, "Do what? Demand to know why? Why you gave into him? Why you're helping him? Why…you've even built an alter to him?"
"Because," was her answer. She lifted her head, her hair sweeping back, taking the shadows from her face, and she locked eyes with him. "He muss believe it."
Joseph's expression creased, "Believe."
"And he has." She said. "So now…" she started to grin, "…I have him."
Joseph was shaking his head.
"Trapped." She added.
Joseph's pained expression loosened.
"Havin ta obey dis." She continued, and lifted the bowl of incense. "It anchors him. Tis his weakness." She lifted the bowl higher. "At your disposal."
A pause lingered between them. Joseph's brow wrinkled. He tried to replay everything she just said, but couldn't. It was there, but he…several words wanted to move his tongue at once, but he couldn't speak.
Her grin stretched. He blinked. He looked down at the incense, the alter, then he looked up at her. He looked at the incense, then her. The incense. When he looked back up, her grin parted her lips, exposing her teeth.
His eyes went wide.
The fingers of his right hand curled into a fist. Eliska bowed and raised the bowl of incense above her head. Joseph reared his fist back, sucked in a breath through his teeth, and then shot his whole arm forward.
His fist went straight through the bowl, sending its pieces and contents in all directions. The smoke rolled and vanished before his face. Standing over Eliska, his arm outstretched, one foot upon the alter, he recalled the name of this land.
Eliska's hands now empty, she eased them close and touched his fist. He looked down, and they locked eyes once more. Her smile was gone. In its place was a silent gasp, but behind her eyes, he recognized what he saw there.
Excitement.
Her hands still resting against his fist, she said, "Dat will not be enough."
Before he could respond, she pulled her hands away and used them to push herself backward. Kneeling on the back section of the alter, she extended her hands to indicate the spot where she had been sitting. She said nothing, but Joseph understood.
He brought his other foot up and loomed over the center of the alter. His fist still shaping his hand, he reared it back, and then brought it and his upper body down. The impact rivaled Calarapan's thunders, sending a shudder out to the edge of the island. From there, the wave shot down the many levels of sediment and disappeared into the abyss.
He remained there, bend down, focused on his fist. His arm should have been buried up to his elbow, but only the front half of his fist broke through the top layer of sticks and dried grass. The area around his fist had sunken inward. Bits of stubble and broken sticks lined the outside of this crater.
He shouldn't have been surprised. This was the spirit realm. This was not just a mat of forest debris. It was an alter. It was going to take more than that, as Eliska said.
Calarapan thundered behind him. Both he and Eliska looked across the bridge. The sound hadn't been muffled like all the other ones coming from the front side of the stronghold. There along the upper half of the back wall, in the middle was a wound similar to the one Joseph made…but bigger.
Only, it was protruding from the wall.
"Again!" Eliska shouted, drawing Joseph's attention back to her. She indicated the alter with her eyes, and then looked at him.
He wasted no time forming a fist with his left hand, raising it and plunging it into the center of the alter. Again, the shockwave jolted both he and Eliska before racing down the height of the island, disappearing into the abyss.
The crater deepened. The outer edge spread underneath his feet. He tilted forward with the slope, but his arm was still fixed into place, keeping him upright.
His right fist still ready, he brought it down, replacing his left fist, sending another wave rippling down into the abyss, sinking the crater further. The sticks snapped in his ears, and the dried grass hissed as it fluttered about.
Calarapan responded with two collisions of his own. Joseph heard the wall of stone breaking, but then was aware of Eliska's snickering. When he lifted his gaze in her direction, she said, "He have hard time breaking' outta his cage."
Joseph smirked, instantly understanding, and plunged his left fist into the alter, shaking the island, widening the crater, and Calarapan slammed against the stone barrier.
"Just hold on, Chantale." Joseph whispered, raising both fists up, bringing them together, and then bringing them down into the center of the alter.
The impact was such that Eliska was lifted from the mat of sticks and grass. She lurched forward, throwing her hands out to catch herself, and met Joseph face-to-face in the middle of the crater.
She expelled a laugh, fixing him with her wide eyes, and crawled backward. He needed the room to raise both fists again.
Calarapan struck the stone wall. They both felt the vibrations in the air. Joseph paused with his arms still raised, riding out the wave. Then he brought both fists down.
"Ha!" Eliska barked when the island dropped out from under her. She landed back down inside the widening crater and dug her fingers into the grass. Joseph looked up to meet her gaze. They both heard the loud crack below them.
By now, Joseph's fists were well below the surface of the island. The crater had engulfed the entire alter. The sticks were splinters, unable to support the dried grass once woven among them.
Joseph looked over his shoulder. The bridge was wobbling side-to-side, but it was still attached.
"Almose, Joseph!" Eliska said, drawing him back around.
It would all have to be destroyed. This entire little island. He couldn't think about what would happen with the stronghold, with it sitting in the middle of the river, the large stone slab perched on top of it. He knew the spirit realm would deal with it, but still.
There was also Chantale and Tamara. They were an anchor on either piece of land. The villagers, too.
He grinned at Eliska. She grinned back. He brought both hands up, clasped them together, and then brought them down with a shout.
They heard it again. That loud crack from below. Once the wave passed from his collision, what was left was a grumble. He felt it in his feet and hands, felt it as his balance shifted. Looking up at Eliska again, he saw the landscape in the distance sinking.
Blinking to adjust his vision, he looked again. Eliska was tightening her grip upon what was left of the alter. She felt the
grumbling, too, but Joseph was seeing her rise as the background sank. Glancing to the side, he listened to the grumble and watched the background beyond the chasm tilt. The motion made him want to lean forward. That's when he realized he was kneeling down upon a shallow slope.
"Do eet now, Joseph!" Eliska shouted.
Raising both fists high, keeping them apart this time, he brought them down upon the alter. The alter split in half. The crack raced to either side of the island, separating him from Eliska.
A roar erupted from behind him. It was not the sound of a man. This was darker. Animal-like. Larger. The stronghold vibrated with it. The giant slab above cracked, making Eliska flinch.
Joseph saw the background rising now. The slope tilted in the opposite direction, making him want to back away, but Eliska was sinking. Her half of the island was pulling away from his half, tilting back to drop into the abyss. Joseph reached for her. She sprang forward, clasping onto his wrist with both hands. He leaned backward, yanking her onto his half of the island.
Another break sounded below. Eliska fell backward, yanking Joseph along with her. He reached back with his other hand, digging into the island, as her half of the island dropped out of view.
Eliska squeaked, being stretched out to where her feet dangled over the edge of this half. Something broke below, and this half of the island whipped itself sideways. Joseph could now see the lost half of the island dropping out of view into the abyss. This half began sweeping backward. Eliska floated away from the surface as the island dropped. Joseph
looked back, hoping to find the edge close to his hand, but then he saw that this piece was still attached to the bridge.
Having lost connection with the lower levels of sediment, the bridge pulled this piece free to go into a downward swing. Eliska floated further out, her eyes locked onto Joseph's as the remaining stalk of layered sediment rose up into view. Joseph used the momentum to sweep her higher.
"The bridge!" he shouted.
She was flying right toward the end of it. As fast as they were dropping, they were also being pulled toward the sheer side of the cliff below his structure. Releasing his wrist with one hand, she reached for the bridge. Joseph's arm was almost standing upright, tilting her upper half down while her feet floated above.
Her fingers stabbed into the thick laces of the bridge, and she grabbed ahold.
Joseph held tight to her other arm and squeezed his eyes shut.
The collisions went off one after the other: from above, where the bridge struck first, all the way down the length of spices,
seeds, and flower petals. Eliska's lower half was thrown forward. She and Joseph met the surface of the island, and then it shattered. Chunks of rock, pieces of stone, and a mist of dirt enveloped them, raced and beat along their bodies, stealing their view of everything. It was like floating upon a bed of needles, weightless, and then Joseph felt a body-sized blow from behind.
Bouncing away from the side of the cliff, he kept his eyes and mouth closed as the pieces of the island rained upon him. All he had was his grip upon Eliska's arm. As long as he had that, he knew she still had a grip on the bridge.
Holding his eyes shut, he noticed the color on the other side of his eyelids brightening. The cry of falling debris was fading.
The weight that crashed upon his head and shoulders felt more and more like a hard mist. When the grains of dirt no longer stung his cheeks, he fluttered his eyelashes.
Below, the base of the island blurred until all there was to see was the abyss.
Darkness. An unfathomable darkness. He didn't know if this was the closest he had ever gotten to either extreme of the spirit realm, or if that subterranean space was still yet out of reach.
Parts of his land were down there. Were they lost or just redefined as mysteries now?
Eliska grunted above. He looked up. With her left hand still clasped onto the end of the bridge, she was looking down the length of her right arm, smiling and panting.
He offered a smile back, and she emitted a breathless chuckle. Turning his head into the face of the cliff as much as he could, he used his legs to push against the surface and twist himself around. When he could, he grabbed onto the uneven surface with his free hand. Looking down, he placed either foot upon a makeshift ledge. Both spots were high enough that he was bending his legs.
Kicking both feet, and pulling with both hands, Eliska grunted again as he propelled himself upward. Catching the cliff face
once more, he steadied himself, and then propelled upward again. This time he snatched ahold of the end of the bridge.
Releasing Eliska's arm, she reached up to grab onto the woven materials. Joseph placed his other hand right beside hers. They both dangled there. She was panting into the side of the cliff. He was pressed against her, panting into her hair.
After a few moments, he started chuckling. So did she.